The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has issued a final rule to establish a temporary certification program for electronic health record (EHR) technology. Organizations will need to abide by processes set up by the certification program in order to be authorized by the National Coordinator to test and certify HER technology.

Use of “certified EHR technology” is a core requirement for providers to qualify for incentive payments under the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs provisions authorized in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

The final rule of the temporary certification program is the first of two certification programs proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the purposes of testing and certifying EHRs. A final rule for a second, permanent certification program is expected to be published this fall.